ABSTRACT
Of all of Germany's leaders, Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg offered perhaps the most accurate appraisal of the conflicting crosscurrents pulling American opinion—including that of its president—in different directions, immediately following the German decision to escalate submarine warfare. As he informed the Budget Committee of the Reichstag of Germany's new submarine campaign on January 31:
America is still aloof. We have done and will continue to do all in our power to keep America out. I do not know whether we will succeed. America is and will be uncertain. I will not speak more optimistically than I think. And I believe that America will enter the war. Wilson has committed himself in his notes. On the other hand, the peace message makes his entrance more difficult. According to his own statements, he wants peace without victory. 1
